Delia pruinosa (Zetterstedt, 1845)
Diptera, Anthomyiidae
mine
In the older literature the species has been described as a leaf miner, but it has turned out as a seed predator. A single egg is deposited on the narrow base of a petal, inside the calyce, and the freshly emerged larva penetrates the ovary via a nectary; a single capsule is eaten out. The can fall victim to the much larger caterpillars of the genus Hadena (Noctuidae), that also live on Silene seed, but empty as much as 20 capsules.
hostplants
Caryophyllaceae; monophagous
Silene vulgaris.
BENELUX
Not known from the Benelux countries (PESI, 2017).
distribution within Europe
From Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and from Britain to Poland (PESI, 2017).
synonyms
Delia flavifrons Zetterstedt, 1860..
references
Ackland & Pont (1969a), Petterson (1992a) .
29/03/2017